Ronnie Perry was elevated to Men's Wrestling Associate Head Coach prior to the 2024-25 season.
From 2019 to 2022, Perry served as the women’s head wrestling coach while also maintaining an assistant coach role with the men’s program. On October 19, 2022, Perry officially filled the role of head men's assistant coach, paving the way for Matt Lackey to take over as the head coach of the Bald Eagle women's wrestling program.
Since becoming the head men's wrestling assistant coach, Perry has helped the Bald Eagles secure a pair of Mid American Conference (MAC) Championships, four individual MAC Champions and one All-American.
Overall, the 2024-25 season will mark Perry's 3rd overall coaching season in Mat-Town USA.
-2023-24 Season By the Numbers:
Lock Haven's 2024 MAC Champions: Anthony Noto at 125 lbs., Gable Strickland at 133 lbs, and Wyatt Henson at 141 lbs.
Noto, Strickland & Henson soar to MAC titles, qualify for NCAA Championship
The Bald Eagles sent three wrestlers to the national tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship was highlighted by Anthony Noto as he defeated No. 10 Eric Barnett in the consolation semifinals and finished the tournament in third.
The accolades continued off the mat, as four Bald Eagles: Anthony Noto, Cael Black, Avery Bassett, and Colin Fegley were named 2024 National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) Division I Individual Scholar All-Americans. In addition, all four Bald Eagles; Noto, Black, Bassett, and Fegley were named All-Academic by the MAC.
Highlights of the 2023-24 Season:
- 3 Individual MAC Champions; Anthony Noto at 125 lbs., Gable Strickland at 133 lbs., and Wyatt Henson at 141 lbs.
- 3 NCAA Division I National Qualifiers (125: #12 Anthony Noto) (133: #27 Gable Strickland) (141: #12 Wyatt Henson)
- 3 finalists at the MAC Championships (3 champions)
- 4 Bald Eagles named MAC All-Academic
- 4 wrestlers earn NWCA Scholar All-American
- Noto named All-American and MAC Wrestler of the Year
- 2022-23 Season By The Numbers:
Selected in the Mid American Conference (MAC) preseason poll to finish 1st out of the 13 teams, The Bald Eagles pulled off the repeat, defending their MAC Championship belt in the 2022-2023 season as they finished the championship tournament with 112.5 points.
LHU’s 2023 MAC Champions: Anthony Noto at 125 lbs. and Gable Strickland at 133 lbs.
Men’s Wrestling Repeats as MAC Champions, Noto & Strickland Earn Individual Titles:
The Haven took a share of the MAC East regular season title for the second year in a row with a dual record of 5-1, and an 8-7 overall record.
The Bald Eagles sent four wrestlers to the national tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship was highlighted once again by Anthony Noto as he dropped No. 3 Liam Cronin in the consolation semifinals and finished the tournament in fourth.
The accolades continued to rain off the mat, as four Bald Eagles: Anthony Noto, Sean Logue, Avery Bassett, and Colin Fegley were named 2023 National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) Division I Individual Scholar All-Americans. In addition, five Bald Eagles Tyler Dilley, Colin Fegley, Matt Maloney, Anthony Noto, and Kaleb Snodgrass were named All-Academic by the MAC.
Highlights of the 2022-2023 Season:
- 2023 MAC Tournament Champions
- 2022-2023 MAC East Regular Season Dual Champions
- 2 Individual MAC Champions Anthony Noto at 125 lbs. and Gable Strickland at 133 lbs.
- 4 NCAA Division I National Qualifiers (125: #8 Anthony Noto) (133: #28 Gable Strickland) (157: #31 Ashton Eyler) (174: #31 Tyler Stoltzfus)
- 3 finalists at the MAC Championships (2 champions, 1 runner-up)
- Five Bald Eagles named MAC All-Academic
- 4 wrestlers earn NWCA Scholar All-American
- Noto named All-American and MAC Wrestler of the Year
2021-22:
Perry’s leadership helped the men’s team power its way to the program’s first Mid-American Conference (MAC) title in 2021-22.Prior to the season, the Bald Eagles were selected to finish 11th out of 13th in the MAC.
As the 2021-22 MAC Championships ended, the Bald Eagles had dominated the field and stood atop the team standings, 15.5 points ahead of the second-place team.
Highlights of the 2021-22 season:
- 2022 MAC Tournament Champions
- 2021-22 MAC East Regular Season Dual Champions
- 2 Individual MAC Champions. Anthony Noto at 125 lbs. and Ben Barton at 155 lbs.
- 5 NCAA Division I National Qualifiers (125: #17 Anthony Noto) (149: #33 DaShawn Farber) (157: #26 Ben Barton) (165: #23 Ashton Eyler) (285: #25 Isaac Reid)
- 7 out of 10 LHU Wrestlers were placewinners at the MAC Tournament
- 4 finalists at the MAC Championships (2 champions, 2 runner-ups)
- Head Coach Scott Moore named MAC Coach of the Year and a finalist for national coach of the year.
- Five Bald Eagles named MAC All-Academic
- 3 wrestlers earn NWCA Scholar All-American
- Noto named MAC Rookie of the year and AWN All-Rookie Team
Head Women’s Wrestling Coach (Assistant Men’s Wrestling Coach)
Following a year of no competition because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Coach Perry led the Bald Eagles to a historic first full season of competition. LHU romped their way to a 6-2 record highlighted by three wins over ranked opponents.
LHU shined bright at their first ever National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championship (NCWWC) Northeast Regional tournament and sent five wrestlers to the NCWWC National Tournament in Adrian, Michigan.
LHU shines at NCWWC Northeast Regional:
National Qualifiers:
Jessica Johnson - 2nd Place - 155 lbs.
Madison Matta - 3rd Place - 136 lbs.
Lily Sherer - 5th Place - 130 lbs.
Carly Gross - 5th Place - 116 lbs.
Madison Packer - 5th Place - 109 lbs.
The five Bald Eagles made their debut at the National Championships in March and Sherer and Johnson collected historic first victories at the tournament for The Haven. After a debut season which shattered expectations, Perry and the Bald Eagles will be looking for even more history in the 2022-23 season and beyond.
2019-20:
On December of 2019 Coach Perry and wrestler Dallis Dillon made history. The duo competed for the first time in LHU women’s wrestling history.
MEET COACH PERRY:
Perry, a 2018 NCAA Division I national finalist, was named the LHU women’s wrestling head coach on May 30, 2019. He spent the 2018-19 season a volunteer assistant coach with the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Champion men’s team.
Part of Perry's (LHU, 2017) duties as head women's coach will be to still assist with the men's program.
As a volunteer assistant with the men's team during the 2018-19 season, Perry helped in all phases of running a top-20 Division I program. His experience and skill in the wrestling room proved invaluable and he also played an important role in fundraising efforts.
Perry carved his name deep in the LHU history books with a Cinderella-run to the 2018 NCAA Division I finals. Competing at 149 pounds, Perry capped his remarkable Lock Haven career by becoming the first No. 15 seed in NCAA tournament history to reach the finals.
Perry's run to the finals and All-American status helped the senior close a brilliant career on the mats and his chapter was an important one in the rise, and the Bald Eagles' return to national prominence. Perry's win in the 2018 EWL finals marked the 100th of his career as he became the 20th member of LHU's 100-win club. Perry closed his senior season in 2017-18 with a 32-4 record and he finished with a 104-32 career record.
Following the 2017-18 season, Perry was named both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and EWL Wrestler of the Year.
In May 2017, Perry earned his a degree in business administration and he just recently finished (May 2019) his master's in sport science at LHU.
On May 22, Lock Haven officially announced its plans to add women's wrestling as a varsity sport. The addition of women's wrestling brings LHU's sport-sponsorship to 20 sports. Lock Haven currently sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs including NCAA Division I field hockey and men's wrestling. All other sports compete at the NCAA DII level and within the PSAC. In August 2018, Lock Haven announced plans to add women's tennis and women's golf. Women's tennis will begin competition next year (2019-20) and women's golf will begin competition in 2020-21.
Updated, Nov. 2023
